WV lawmaker wants Barbie outlawed in his state

[KSUViolet06]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29508066/

Excerpt:

Barbie could get an unwelcome present for her 50th birthday: outlawed in West Virginia.

A state lawmaker proposed a bill Tuesday to ban sales of the iconic Mattel doll and others like her.

The Barbie Ban Bill, proposed by Democratic Delegate Jeff Eldridge (D) Lincoln County, says such toys influence girls to place too much importance on physical beauty, at the expense of their intellectual and emotional development.

"I just hate the image that we give to our kids that if you're beautiful, you're beautiful and you don't have to be smart," Eldridge told West Virginia news station WOWK.

The delegate concedes that the chances of getting the bill passed are slim, but adds that he stands behind it.

[Coramoor]

"It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible." Oscar Wilde

[PeppyGPhiB]

Why does the lawmaker think that because Barbie is pretty, she can't be smart? That's the beauty of dolls...they can do/think/say anything the little girl or boy playing with them wants them to.

[honeychile]

Barbie has been

-a vetenarian.
-a pilot.
-a flight attendant.
-a teacher.
-an astronaut in 1965 - long before other American female astronauts.
-a doctor in 1988.
-a NASCAR driver in 1998 (okay, not sure if this is positive or negative...)

Not such a negative image, IMHO. I think it would be doing more harm than good by refusing to let your daughter have a Barbie. I understand that she will have a new face and that the waist is larger on the Barbies to be sold this year.

Barbie will turn the big 5-0 on March 9 this year, but there's no truth to the rumor that Menopause Barbie will be for sale!

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Barbie will turn the big 5-0 on March 9 this year, but there's no truth to the rumor that Menopause Barbie will be for sale!

[Kevin]

It's the time of the year when batshit crazy bills get introduced and dismissed in state legislatures.

Good times will always be had by all involved.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Kevin

It's the time of the year when batshit crazy bills get introduced and dismissed in state legislatures.

Good times will always be had by all involved.

It makes me wonder what they are sneaking through while using these bills as a distraction.

[phisiglindsey]

This lawmaker thinks that toys like Barbie are a bad influence, when take away Barbie, and you still have the media. Magazines, TV, movies..that's what gives the little girls the problems. Not the Barbie. Millions of little girls had Barbies growing up, including myself, and I grew up just fine. I'm happy with myself. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Barbies.

[groovypq]

Don't we have bigger issues to worry about??

[SWTXBelle]

Here's an idea - how about we let parents decide what playthings they want their children to have? As long as they are safe, toys should be left out of government control.

[Leslie Anne]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Here's an idea - how about we let parents decide what playthings they want their children to have? As long as they are safe, toys should be left out of government control.

This sums it up for me.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Here's an idea - how about we let parents decide what playthings they want their children to have? As long as they are safe, toys should be left out of government control.

Don't I have some sort of constitution right to have my theoretical children play with lawn darts?

[VandalSquirrel]

What a waste of time and money.

I just had this conversation with my mother yesterday, funny. My mother didn't allow my eldest sister to have Barbies because she thought Barbie was a bad example. My sister saved her money and bought me my first Barbie. I'm the daughter who has traveled the world, moved away from home, and got out of my crappy relationship, nor have I ever been married. My sister has been married three times and is a stay at home mom. Kind of back fired (though it was the 70's when she denied my sister and the Women's Movement was still going on, by the 80's Barbie had multicultural friends and empowering jobs) if you look how different we turned out.

[DaemonSeid]

Can we ban Ken?

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

Can we ban Ken?

What! Are you offended by his man bump?